Emergency Veterinary Care for Pets of the Homeless

We have you to thank!

Total monetary donations were up 86% over last year.  Donations that paid for the costs of emergency veterinary care of pets of the homeless.  The number of cases almost doubled to 757.  Each of these cases involve a tremendous amount of time to process and so we hired another part time case manager. These cases involved so many types of illness and injuries, it would be impossible to list.  You can well imagine the types of trouble these pets are exposed to while living on the street: from fights, to eating anything they find on the ground or sidewalk, to picking up diseases because they are not vaccinated and just plain old age aliments.

Here are the stories of Einstein and Sassy.

Pets of the Homeless received a call from a homeless couple living in a tent with their dog Einstein in San Diego, CA.  Einstein's symptoms included vomiting, diarrhea, was not drinking water, and he was lethargic and losing weight.  We approved an exam for Einstein to be seen by a local veterinarian.

After the examination was completed, it was recommended to do x-rays and bloodwork to determine what was making him so sick.  We were able to approve the recommended diagnostics.  The x-rays showed that Einstein had a luxated patella (occurs when the knee cap moves out of its natural position) and would need surgery.  We were able to assist with the maximum allowable benefit for this pet to perform the diagnostics and provide medications. We provided additional resources to help with the cost of Einstein's surgery.

In another case, the call came from a homeless man who lives in a tent with his 9-week old kitten, Sassy in San Diego, CA.  Sassy had a herniated umbilical cord and symptoms of mange.  We approved an exam with a local veterinarian in the area.

After the exam, we received a recommended treatment plan to perform a snap test, deworm, vaccinate and provide flea treatment.  It was also determined that Sassy needed hernia surgery.  We were able to approve the needed treatment, vaccines and assist with Sassy's surgery.

Both these cases were from an area that is experiencing a high degree of homelessness due to the rising costs of housing.  Once the homeless find us as a source to get help, word travels fast and we see an increase of cases from the same area.